Replicator Redux
by pandorabox82
Summary: What if the Replicator wasn't someone from Strauss's past, but someone much closer to home? How would the team react knowing that they had to bring down one of their own? A/U
1. Chapter 1

There were so many ways that she could get caught, she knew that full well. But ever since her attempt at trying to have a career in law enforcement, after her partner of four years had been murdered and the police had done nothing to find his killer, and been denied due to her past, she knew that she had to come home to Quantico and fix everything that had gone wrong. After all, it was evident that since she had been railroaded into leaving that nothing had gone right.

Shaking her shoulders a little, Elle repositioned the camera in her hands and started to take a few more pictures of the incident that was unfolding before her. It was perfect, actually, that the BAU would be involved in something so chaotic, since it allowed her to go about relatively unnoticed by the people around her, also focused on the bank incident. It was even a bit fun to take pictures of her former section chief and David Rossi kissing, something that she knew would be frowned upon should it be discovered by the Director.

"Are you with the BAU?"

Elle looked up into the curious, open, face of a Capitol cop, and knew that he was half disposed to believe she was, since she still knew how to move like she belonged in the FBI. Giving him a slight nod, she held up the camera and then pointed to the scene. "I've been tasked to continue taking pictures of the area. If the group inside isn't working alone, they might have one of their partners hiding in the crowd, taking notes and passing information on to them. All these pictures are going to be uploaded to the Alpha team so that Penelope Garcia can analyze them and see if there are any known faces amongst them."

The subtle dropping of proper names seemed to further cement the belief that she was supposed to be on the scene, and the officer nodded before giving her a tight smile. "Very good. I just had to check."

"I completely understand. Now, if you don't mind, I need to get on with this."

"Of course." He moved off, and Elle let out a long breath as soon as he was out of earshot. It felt a little too close for comfort, and she pulled her hat a little lower on her brow in order to not be quite so noticeable to everyone. Bringing the camera to her eye once more, she focused in on the front of the bank, noticing that Will La Montagne was entering the building, and she tried to keep from smiling too gleefully when JJ had to be restrained from following after him. It was a bit of a shock that it took both Derek and Emily (her vastly overrated replacement, she couldn't help think) to hold the small woman back, but such was the power of love and stupidity.

A few more well-timed pictures, and then she allowed the camera to dangle from her neck as she took a look around the crowd gathered. There were more people leaving, since it was clear that this was going to be going on for some time to come, and she knew that this increased her likeliness of being discovered. Still, she wanted to stay and capture more images, to put together the pieces of who the team was now, so that she could better use that information against them in the future. They all thought they were so clever, that they were morally superior to anyone else in the world. Well, that all would change, and soon. She did feel badly, though, that Strauss would be caught in the crosshairs of this affair, since she hadn't really been in the middle of incident that had seen her leave the FBI. But, still, there were always bound to be some innocent bystanders caught in the middle of conflicts such as this.

Her phone vibrated against her hip, and she pulled it out, taking a look at the screen to see that her inside partner had gotten in touch with her, telling her that things were going well on his end. An almost wicked smile slipped across her lips before she slipped the phone back into her pocket and brought the camera to her face once more, taking a few more pictures of Strauss, Hotch, and Rossi as they talked. It was clear from the way they interacted that Hotch wasn't really listening to the woman, despite her being his boss, and that rankled her.

Elle frowned deeply as she zoomed in on Hotch's sanctimonious face, making certain to get a few close ups, in order to be better able to pick him out in a crowd while she was in the field with them. It was almost as if he felt the camera on him, though, since he glanced over her way, his sunglasses blocking his eyes. A small gasp slipped from her lips, and Elle ducked behind a pillar, holding her free hand close to her chest as she struggled to keep from hyperventilating. He hadn't really seen her, she knew, but her flight instinct was still so strong when it came to him.

Finally, she felt more in control of her body, and she stepped out again, finding that things had changed in the few moments that she had allowed herself to be distracted. There was a lot of activity now around the doors, and she wondered what had happened to bring about the flurry of motion. She wasn't prepared for the blast, but neither, it seemed, was Hotch, and Elle flinched as she tried to brace herself for the blowback from the explosion.

This seemed to be her perfect time to escape, to blend into the throng of people that were rapidly running from the scene, since it was now apparent that no one knew what was going to happen next. She stumbled a little, and a passing woman stopped to help right her. She gave her a small smile before ducking into a free alley, resting against the wall as she tried to catch her breath and remind herself that she was still alive, that nothing bad had happened to her. She just wondered if this would have any bearing on how her plan would come to fruition, or if she would have to readjust her endgame at all. The only thing she knew for certain in that moment was that Hotch was alive, and so her revenge could still be taken out on him.

Shaking her head to clear out the dust and lingering fear, Elle pulled off her hat and shoved it in the nearest trash can before pulling her hair out of its ponytail and then further blending into the crowd of people still making their way away from the epicenter. Her phone vibrated again, and Elle pulled it out, giving a small nod to no one before unlocking the device and bringing it to her ear. "I'm fine, I wasn't near enough the blast to be injured, and will be heading back to the rental to take a look at the pictures that I took today. If I need anything further from you, I'll contact you."

Hanging up before he could answer, she shoved the phone back into her pocket and carefully made her way back to the place she was calling home for as long as it took to see her plan through to the end.


	2. Chapter 2

Elle had been surprised to watch JJ take Emily to the airport, and she had called her contact to make certain that she was correct in thinking that the woman had decided to leave for good, that she wouldn't further complicate matters for Elle. He had been quick to agree with her, sending the paperwork that confirmed her new position with Interpol. It was only May, and the BAU was already down a member, without her having to really lift a finger.

Surprisingly, Strauss had proven to be the easiest part of the team to follow, as she had a definite routine. Though Elle had been surprised to note that every Wednesday she attended an AA meeting. That was something she had never thought of the woman, seeing as how she had always been cool and in control whenever Elle had dealt with her.

From her mole, she was able to find out where the team's next assignment was, and she hopped a flight to Zanesville, Ohio, arriving just after the team did. It wasn't hard to track their movements, given that she was being fed with information that told her where the team was staying for the evenings, and from there was able to follow them on their investigation, taking care to always stay in the background, to wear different wigs and glasses and clothes so that if any of them did catch on to the fact that they were being observed, they wouldn't be able to describe her with any certainty. Elle even went so far as to apply beauty marks and birthmarks with makeup.

The dynamic between the remaining five team members was different than the dynamic she had had during her time with Alpha, and she wondered how much of that was due to the fact that Hotch seemed to have relaxed a little of his heavy-handed stranglehold on them. She ascribed a portion of that to the fact that his best friend had rejoined the team once again.

"Over here, Hotch!"

The sound of Reid's voice, so close to her position, startled Elle, and she stiffened and tried to make herself as inconspicuous as possible as they came closer to her table in outdoor café. Raising her cup to her lips, Elle took a long drag as she tracked them with her eyes, taking in the way they worked together and she found herself envious of the easy rapport they seemed to have formed in her absence. Reid had been the only one, really, who had understood her. It wasn't fair that Hotch was now so close to him.

Unable to stop herself, she let out a snort of disbelief. It was louder than she had thought, and Reid's head shot up as he glanced in her direction. A quick frown turned down his lips, and she steeled herself to keep from reacting to his scrutiny, instead setting down her mug and picking up her tablet, scrolling through the news without really reading anything on the screen.

Once he seemed satisfied that he had merely thought he heard something, Reid turned back to Hotch, falling back into the conversation she had interrupted. Knowing that she couldn't stay there any longer, Elle finished off her coffee and then got up from the table and deliberately passed by them. Once again, Reid glanced up at her, but she kept walking, knowing that if she hesitated now, she would risk being caught out, and that was not part of her plan.

Still, she couldn't help but nod at Rossi as she brushed past him, enjoying the inquisitive look he gave her. They had never met, and as far as she knew, no pictures of her time with the BAU existed where he could have found them. The rush of playing with fire surged through her, and Elle allowed a pleased smirk to spread across her lips as she walked towards her rental car and got behind the wheel.

Still, Elle made certain to pull out into traffic slowly, knowing that she still had to keep from gaining their attention. Hotch, she knew, would never forget a face, his memory was even better than Reid's, in some things, and she couldn't afford to have her plans disrupted this early in the game. Once she was back at her hotel room, she let go of her tight control and let out a loud laugh, hugging herself as she let out a deep breath.

Her phone rang, and her jubilant mood faltered a little. It wasn't like her contact to reach out to her, and she pulled out her phone and looked at the display for a moment before answering. "Greenaway here."

"You might want to head home, Elle. I picked up a blip in Garcia's searches."

"What do you mean, a blip?"

"I mean, she was specifically looking into people who might have grudges against the BAU. You told me to look out for things of that nature, and so I'm telling you that's what's going on. Do with the information what you will. But if I were you, I'd come back to Quantico before things spiral out of control so far that you can't bring them back in."

"All right, I hear you. Besides, I think that I've got all I need from here. They are a tight knit group, aren't they?"

"Even more so than when you were with the team. They've been through so many tragedies, that it truly seemed to cement them into a family. And then they forget that they're not the only people attached to the BAU."

"There's no need to be so bitter. At least you still work with the FBI. I've had to exist in the shadows ever since I walked away from the BAU. Hotch blacklisted me, and no one would return my calls afterwards. It's like I wasn't ever a part of the elite squad. Well, they'll rue the day that they pushed me out of their circle. Mark my words."

Her contact let out a bitter laugh, and she narrowed her eyes as she got out of her car, heading into her room to grab her things. "Elle, you need to walk that rope very carefully. There will be severe consequences if you fuck up at the beginning."

"Don't you think I know that? Look, I'm grateful that you're helping me, but this pressure is not allowing me to think straight. I'll contact you once I'm back at my place. I'm going to use the drive home to think about ways to be more inconspicuous while I collect my intel on the team."

"Sounds like a good idea. Be in touch soon."

Her contact hung up, and Elle let out a frustrated sigh as she shoved her phone in her pocket and took stock of what she needed to pack up. Thankfully, she had never gotten away from living out of her bags when she had been with the BAU, so she didn't have too much to clean up, beside what was in the bathroom. In ten minutes, she was finished and back in her car, headed to Quantico. As Elle drove, she began to plot what he next move would be. Obviously, she needed to play things a little more close to the vest, but that was okay, she could do that, as long as it meant that she would achieve her goal – bringing Aaron Hotchner down.


End file.
